Details: Fans used during the winter should be operated at low speeds, allowing the air to gently circulate without causing a "wind chill" effect. In this way, ceiling fans can also help keep occupants comfortable and save energy in the winter heating season. The fans on this page are the most effective at pulling the heated air that has risen to the ceiling and redirect it to the occupant levels. This results in a more effective use of the heating system and lower energy consumption.

Read the information at the left of this page for more details about how each control operates.

I tend to keep mine going in the same direction, to gently cause the air to constantly circulate.

my inlaws have 35' ceilings in their great room, so they have their pushing the ceiling air back down to the floor level (mine are reverse of that so as to not cause a direct breeze on us with our lower ceilings).

It all depends on which way your blades are pitched. You want the fan to mix the warm air with the hot air that is naturally rising in the winter. For most fans this is the "reverse" position. The fan should be blowing air straight up.

In the summer hot air still rises, but cools as it rises so you want the fan to blow air straight down to help force the hotter air up.

I tend to keep mine going in the same direction, to gently cause the air to constantly circulate.

my inlaws have 35' ceilings in their great room, so they have their pushing the ceiling air back down to the floor level (mine are reverse of that so as to not cause a direct breeze on us with our lower ceilings).

Vaulted ceilings are all the more reason to NOT be blowing air straight down. The point of the fan is to "suck" the colder air from the floor up to mix with the warmer air. Also, with vaulted ceilings you get more volume of warm air "pushed" back down to the floor from the sides of the room.

Vaulted ceilings are all the more reason to NOT be blowing air straight down. The point of the fan is to "suck" the colder air from the floor up to mix with the warmer air. Also, with vaulted ceilings you get more volume of warm air "pushed" back down to the floor from the sides of the room.

*shrug* not my house, and the inlaws swear by that method.

I subscribe to the method you mentioned, but haven't had to live with 35+' ceilings, and was only offering up what they used, the their logic for it.

:dunno:

even with a long down rod on their fan, it's so far up that I honestly don't notice a difference being so high up there. but I also don't live in the house 24/7 like they do.

I can agree. I have a 12 foot vaulted ceiling with a 52" hung on a 24" drop rod in my great room. I couldn't tell the difference on low-low speed, but left on 24/7 for a few months and it sure became apparent on the heating bill.

I ended up putting 48-52" fans in all the rooms and only had to use AC twice this summer and the fans themselves were mainly on low settings if they were on at all.

Now, this is of course the first home I've had where the cold air returns were installed at the ceiling height properly as opposed to along the floor like most pre 1970's era homes have.

Now, this is of course the first home I've had where the cold air returns were installed at the ceiling height properly as opposed to along the floor like most pre 1970's era homes have.

my 1995/6 home was built like those 1970's homes. it has numerous code violations that were violations even in 95/6 when it got the CO...

It is widely reported, that the City of Fenton did "drive by" inspections at that time frame, especially for the production builders (like my house)

Among the fixes I've had to do. Attic ventilation, vapor/wind barrier that wasn't there when we re-sided. inadequate flashing on the roof. wiring, oh the wiring issues.

not all of them are fixed, and most are at the inconvenience level.

but, as an example. all of the houses GFCI's and the smoke detector/alarms are all on the same circuit. The sole GFCI reset button is in the master bath.

really freakin convenient when I'm in the garage, fire up the compressor at the same time that my wife happened to have left her curling iron on in the master bath, and someone is using the toaster in the kitchen...

*sigh*

back to the topic at hand, we too have 4 ceiling fans (I put 'em all in) and indeed it does help out on the utility bills. As does our brand new front load washer/dryer by being more efficient. :)